Swedish star Annika Sorenstam posted a three-under 69 on Saturday to capture the season-opening SBS Open.
"I could not have asked for a better start," Sorenstam said. "We all have talked so much about 2007. I think it's time to talk about 2008."
It was the 70th LPGA Tour title for Sorenstam, who was winless last year and was limited to 13 events as a result of back and neck injuries.
PHOTO: AFP
It was the first year since 1994 that Sorenstam had failed to win a tournament.
Sorenstam, who was making her first appearance in this US$1.1 million event at Turtle Bay, finished at 10-under 206 and won by two strokes over Thailand's Russamee Gulyanamitta, Laura Diaz and Jane Park.
"I'm obviously very, very thrilled. It's great to win tournaments. There's some tournaments that mean a little bit more and they come at a special time. I would say this is one of them, as you know for many reasons," Sorenstam said.
Erica Blasberg, who was tied with Sorenstam for the lead entering the final round, stumbled to a two-over 74 and finished five strokes adrift.
Defending champion Paula Creamer closed with a 69 and finished at four-under 212.
Sorenstam turned it on when needed, overcoming her lone bogey on the 11th hole with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 before wrapping up the championship with a par on the 18th.
"It was huge," Sorenstam said of her birdie putt on the 17th hole. "It was one of those putts that I'm going to remember for a long time. I mean, it's nice to have a one-stroke lead going into 18."
"But to have two especially when it's a par-five, a lot of players had birdies. Coming back like this, it's nice to have a little extra cushion. So that was key," she said.
In her final 32 holes of the tournament, Sorenstam recorded 10 birdies against just the one bogey. She earned US$165,000 for the win.
Sorenstam said she wanted this tournament more than any other in the past year.
"Last year, the desire wasn't there," Sorenstam said. "And my swing was definitely not there. Now it is. And, like I said, those are two important components you need to play well and to be the top player out here."
Russamee, of Rayong, had four birdies in her bogey-free 68 while Diaz and Park each were hurt by a costly double-bogey on the front side.
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS